Deploying to war as the commander of the Wolfhounds

(Editor's note: This is the first part of an ongoing series of columns written by Somerset native Lt. Col. Walter Piatt who is serving in Afghanistan.)

By WALTER E. PIATT

In March 2004 I deployed to Afghanistan for my second tour in the Global War on Terrorism.

This time I would deploy as the commander of 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry. The battalion is called the Wolfhounds, a named we earned during World War I. Stationed in Hawaii since 1921, the Wolfhounds were no stranger to war but the unit had not deployed to combat since Vietnam.

I struggled with what to say to the soldiers as we readied for this historic event. Below are the words I shared with them almost a year ago and what now seems a lifetime away.

In 327 BC Alexander the Great came to Afghanistan. Since then many great warriors have come and many have conquered but few have ruled for long and fewer still left Afghanistan alive.

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We go now not to conquer but to secure a future for the Afghan people - not to destroy but to build - not to kill but to bring life and hope to this hard land. But we come with strength and we will use force on those who attempt to disrupt the stability we bring.

To win we must build hope in people who have none. We must establish security- not the temporary security from the barrel of a weapon but through the good and peaceful governance of the Afghan people themselves. This is no easy task some say that it requires a diplomat or a volunteer peace organization - they are already there and they can't do it. No, it requires a soldier - it requires a Wolfhound.

Look around you. The walls of our barracks in D Quad have seen many Wolfhounds depart before you. Their spirit lives inside this ground and inside each of you. We have lived here since 1921. We left in 1942, fought battles throughout the pacific, served in Japan and then fought in Korea and did not return until 1954. We left again in 1965 this time to Vietnam and returned in 1970. Not every Wolfhound saw D-Quad again but we made certain that every Wolfhound came home.

Next week we depart again and we won't return until 2005. Many Wolfhounds tell me we have the short tour. And many are watching us know they are with us as we deploy - great men like Soloman, Michaelis, Foley, Millett, McKinney, and O'Reilly.

What is different is that this time it is our turn - our turn to make history as we defend our nation's freedom in a foreign land. None of us will go alone - but at times you will feel alone. Know that all of us go on this journey together and we go as Wolfhounds have always gone - with NO FEAR!

Wolfhounds it is our turn.

I will never forget our departure from Hawaii. Young wives cried as they clung to their children. Fear painted their faces not knowing if they would ever see their loved one again. This was the last time we would see our families for a year. It was also the last time I would see the look of innocence on the faces of these young soldiers.

The soldiers were eager to deploy. They were ready to close with and destroy the enemy. I knew inside that some would not return and that all would face challenges they never could imagine. I felt like a father watching his child leave home. I knew we were trained but were we prepared for the evil we would face?

This would be the fifth time I left my family to deploy to a foreign land. As I departed Hawaii and began my long journey to Afghanistan I thought of my hometown and how the war had come to Somerset County on Sept. 11th. Memories of my childhood flooded my mind. I thought of the war memorials at the Somerset County Courthouse and how as a boy I would gaze upon the monuments and dream of being a soldier. Now as a man, I have seen the evils of war and was about to see them again. I remember thinking that there is nothing glorious or honorable about war. However, I knew how necessary this war is for the future of my hometown and my country. I thought of my father who had just recently passed away. I was determined make him proud and not to let those who counted on me down.

In Afghanistan, a determined enemy awaited my arrival. He was every bit as determined to win as I was.

(Lt. Col. Piatt is a native of Somerset County and a 1979 graduate of Somerset Area High School and a 1987 graduate of Lock Haven University. He is currently commanding the US Army's 2nd Battalion 27th Infantry (Wolfhounds) serving in Afghanistan as part of the 25th Infantry Division since March 2004.)